Jekyll and Hyde
by DPrentice
Summary: "In each of us, there are two natures. If this primitive duality of man, good and evil, could be housed in separate identities, life would be relieved of all that is unbearable." Such the words from Dr Henry Jekyll, but he was wrong. So very wrong indeed. ON HIATUS
1. Prologue

_**A/N: Hey all! Grace here again, ready to give you my personal fanfic. I know I've been slow updating my other story, but I have unfortunately come to a bit of a road block. I'll make sure to update that one as soon as I can, but for now, enjoy Jekyll and Hyde!**_

**Full Summary: **_Ryou Bakura, a smart and outspoken piano player at Domino Academy of the Arts is forced into a role he is perfect for. However, he didn't realise that 'getting in character' would have such disasterous consequences. Follow his tale as he discovers the truth behind 'good' and 'evil' once and for all, while breaking the thin line between the two. Loosely based on the concept of 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'. Rating may go up as the story progresses as it may or may not be a horror fic._

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><p><em><strong>Prologue<strong>_

_In each of us, there are two natures. If this primitive duality of man, good and evil, could be housed in separate identities, life would be relieved of all that is unbearable. It is the curse of mankind that these polar twins should be constantly struggling. – __**Dr Henry Jekyll **_

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><p><em>Good and evil, right from wrong, angelic verses demonic.<em>  
>These two polar opposites in life are the source of both happiness and tragedy. Most people would say happiness is guided by good, while tragedy is the force of evilness. But, do we really understand the true nature of the two? What would make someone entirely evil or good?<p>

In society we are taught to respect those that are innocent and shame those that are tainted, but do we ever question it? It is the natural act of man to smite the wicked and commend the heroic without realising the reasons behind these acts.

I'd once thought that these two twins could live harmoniously with one another, work together somehow, and relieve the world from imminent chaos. But I was wrong, so very wrong indeed. Good and evil were created solely for the purpose of primitive behaviour; one cannot exist without the other, and must continue to fight until the end of time.

From the beginning of my realisation I was always Jekyll, always innocent, always doing the best for everyone and never putting myself before anyone. I was once considered an angel. A species man describes as heavenly and I thought I was too. I was merely an Englishman, living in my fathers' home country of Japan, achieving nothing and executing nothing. Not only was my behaviour heavenly, but also my appearance.

I'd never frown, even in the darkest times and would warm anyone with a calming smile. My soft, doe-like eyes glistening with honesty as I did so. Never did I insult another, nor did I commit egotistical remarks to show off my wealth. It is true that I was once well off and had any necessity given to me on a silver platter, but I'd never flaunt my wealth in the eyes of others worse off than me. I'd give my time and effort to those who needed it and gave sound advice to those who asked. I was admired by my peers and outspoken to all, an angel physically and emotionally.

I was innocent. I wasn't tainted like those who took material items such as looks into account and I'd never get in the way of those who did. My skin and hair radiated this too. My skin, pale and soft, never touched nor marked. A full description of pureness in my mind. My hair, once so full of life and as white as snow reflected the thoughts society had of me being a walking angel among demons. I had no act of injustice against me and I stayed in my place, observing anything and everything I looked at or touched.

I was, however intrigued at the opposite side of my nature. What I'd be like if I'd followed a path of evil and shied away from the light that was my soul. Who would my personal Hyde be and how would he see the world? I found out all too soon unfortunately and tragedy struck my once clean slate.

My Hyde revealed himself to me and created chaos in his wake. I could not control myself or my curiosity from peaking. I was interested in my Hydes' story and his reasons for his hatred of mankind. He, in turn, showed me a world unlike my own.

He showed me life at its best and damned all who took that privilege away from him. He stole, he murdered and I stood by him for most of it. I didn't realise until it was too late, that I had fed him power and he took it in his stead. My soul, torn in two and unrepairable, had crumbled to ashes and fed the beast that dwelled within me and I had the guilt to pay for it.

Becoming Jekyll was the worst decision of my life and I've paid with my life for it. Hyde was not a man, but a monster to mankind and I couldn't help but pity him. His story and his love of life introduced me to a new, unorthodox way of thinking, but I couldn't bear to look away. My soul became tainted with evilness and I couldn't stand off against the growing darkness that surrounded my conscious each day.

So I sit here praying, hoping that someone will see the dimming light in my being and rescue me from the mistake I have made. I keep my courage as a sign of my last fight for control and to tell my last message to those that will hear it.

If you are one wondering how my story began, I have to take you back to before tragedy struck, before I'd succumbed to the darkness and before I was seen as a monster. However, I must warn that this tale is not one for those of faint hearts, but for those with a strong will and an interest in the other side of humanity.

For I, Mr. Ryou Bakura, will tell you this tragic tale of misery and despair, leaving no details of false hope, only the truth. For the truth is all I have left.

It began on an early January morning, two years ago….

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><p><strong><span>AN: Well there you have it! I should warn that the beginning is a little bit slow, but it will gradually become darker and action packed. Please R&R!**

**~Grace**


	2. I Need To Know

**A/N: Well here's chapter one for you! I'll be a little longer getting the next chapter out because of school and such. The beginning, as I said, is a little slow, but will become more action packed later. Hoping you all stay tuned!**

**Information to know:**

**Marik Ishtar= Hikari**

**~Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Jekyll and Hyde, a Yugioh fanfiction<strong>

**I Need To Know**

_I need to see, The truth other men cannot see,  
>to be things that others can't be!<br>Give me courage to go  
>where no angel will go! ~ Dr Henry Jekyll<em>

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><p>I woke up earlier than expected on the twentieth day of January, due to the consistent <em>pitter patter<em> of rain falling on my roof. I'd sigh lowly to myself every time I woke up like this, cursing myself for the light sleeper I was.

I rolled over to glance at the clock on my bedside table and rubbed my eyes, wishing them to somehow remain shut so I didn't have to know that it was three, something or other in the morning.

I suddenly caught a harsh draft from the outer regions of my comforter and shivered, cuddling myself closer to the pillows below my head. My teeth started chattering and I silently cursed myself for the unnecessary safety measures I went to instead of being warm. I've been taught that it is customary to turn off your heater at night so that you or your house weren't in danger of catching on fire due to the heating system overheating. Call me crazy, but it was the way I was raised.

I closed my eyes while trying to adjust my body temperature back to one I was comfortable with and dozed lightly until I fell back to sleep.

I awoke a second time to the increasingly annoying beeping from my alarm clock and pouted at the idea of leaving my cosy bed for another day of college. It wasn't as if I hated the classes or the course I was taking, I just hated getting up early. Glancing at the alabaster roof for a final time, I rolled to my side again to gently tap the buzzing noise off and gingerly folded the covers off me.

The draft caught my legs and arms through my light blue bed clothes and I found myself once again shivering from the freezing temperature. Ignoring the hurtful chill I was being given, I tiredly swung my legs so they were dangling towards the floor. Placing my once warm feet on my mahogany floorboards, I stood to my full height in order to stretch out any kinks I'd gotten from sleeping in such an uncomfortable, but warm, position all night and yawned slightly, mind still clouded with sleep. Shivering again, I quickly walked over to my desk chair to grab a loose fitting grey hoodie that was hanging over it to provide more warmth and shoved it on over my terrible bed-head. Poking both of my arms through it, I attempted to flatten my now even more messed up hair. Giving up on the impossible, I made my way to the door of my master bedroom, opened the door, and started to make my way towards my impossibly long staircase.

Leaning heavily on the railings, I made my way slowly down the stairs and into the kitchen to see what I could cook up. Although I had money to pay for aid services such as maids or butlers, I had always decided against it. I'd lived in a family who was spoilt, but I didn't want to travel down that lazy and selfish path because I believed I could be independent instead of people waiting on me hand and foot. And so, I cooked, cleaned and worked for myself, never minding what my father always said about me being stupid.

I came to a halt next to my silver surfaced fridge and opened it up to see the contents. I would have to go shopping that afternoon because I was almost out of bread and milk. I sighed, settling for some b-grade cereal and the rest of my milk. I'd have to go without my daily fix of tea, which was probably a bad idea as I was already tired from the rain last night and had to live through another full day of college.

Opening a draw to retrieve a spoon to eat my inadequate breakfast with, I set my full bowl on the kitchen table and went off to get that day's newspaper.

Walking briskly towards the front door I spared a glance at my grand piano sitting in the lounge room, ready to be played once I'd return from my classes for the day and hurriedly forced my front door open and looked outside. It was a horrible looking day and every surface was covered with a layer of rain water, giving the scenery a damp look about it. Pouting to the landscape, I bent down to pick up the now slightly wet newspaper that must have been thrown a while ago, and made my way back into my house. On the way back to the kitchen I turned on my ducted heating system so that it could warm up while I was getting ready.

Sitting back down at the table, I unfolded the newspaper and read the new stories. Apparently there had been a robbery at a jewellery store in town and a 50-carat gold watch had been stolen, but the thief had been caught moments after because of the police surveillance. I'd never understood why people decided to rob places that were so highly protected, was it for the thrill of the catch, or did they actually have a proper purpose for it? Sighing to myself I decided to check the rest of the stories. There was a sale at the market tomorrow which I would have to make note of, and the stock market was up, but other than that, the news was slow that day.

Once I'd finished my cereal, I took my bowl to the sink and folded my newspaper up, placing it on the table to bin later. I made my way back upstairs and towards the shower so I could further warm and clean myself up for class.

Grabbing a towel from my bedroom along the way, I made my way to my bathroom that was just down the hall and ran myself a shower. Stripping off my bed clothes, I stepped into the shower and let the nice and warm currents hit my back until I eventually ran out of hot water. Turning off the faucets, I stepped out and wrapped a towel around my waist. The left-over steam kept me warm as I glanced at myself in the mirror, sighing at my now almost mattered, wet hair. I probably should have gotten it cut sooner or later because my now long white fringe was dangling in my eyes and becoming an increasing annoyance.

Puffing my fringe from my doe-brown eyes I made my way out of the bathroom to dry myself and get dressed, choosing a simple white shirt and black pants with a light jumper over the top because I knew the college had heating and I'd probably end up sweating by the time I could go home. Running a brush quickly through my knotted hair, I went to retrieve my shoes from my wardrobe and quickly made my way back down the flight of stairs and to my piano to grab the sheet music we had to practise the night before. Shoving the papers into my shoulder bag, I grabbed my keys off the nearby hook and opened my garage door.

Hopping in my Coupe-Cabriolet and turning the motor on, I pushed a button on the remote in my door compartment to lift the garage roof and backed out of the driveway, on my way to Domino Academy.

I was proven right about the weather because it started to hail as soon as I left and forced me to turn my windscreen wipers on high. The drive to the college wasn't too long, fifteen minutes and I usually walked, but because of the rain I had to drive. The academy came into view and I glanced wryly at it. It wasn't an immaculate looking school, but the learning curriculum was. The schools overall average was very high and many left the place with excellent degrees of knowledge. I'd been given a scholarship for music in high school and chose to go to Domino, not only because my friends were there, but also for the learning experience.

It was your basic looking college, but with extra auditoriums and music classrooms. Their whole financing went into the production funds and when the school performed such, the whole town showed up for the event.

I was usually on the band committee and varied from piano to other instruments when needed. I'd also normally help out with props, curtain calls and such. I believed my place was behind the scenes, I was also extremely cowardly when it came to tryouts and so I'd never receive a main part. That suited me fine though, I was quiet and glad I didn't have to act or sing.

I was just pulling up to the car park when it stopped raining and I noticed Marik zipping past on his motorcycle.

I had known Marik Ishtar for years. We'd met in our first year of high school, both of us being not only completely new to the school, but also new to the country as well. I transferred from England while he came from Egypt and we'd been best friends ever since.

Driving my car into a nearby parking spot I got out to wave Marik over, who was currently parking his bike. Ever since I'd become friends with him, Marik had always wanted a motorbike, but never had enough money for one. I decided that for his eighteenth birthday to give him one as a present and he cared for it like it was his baby. Taking off his helmet and placing it under the crook of his arm, he smiled, noticing me and rushed over, his light sandy blonde hair swishing behind him.

"Hey Ry! Ready for another day of torture?" he asked, flinging an arm over my shoulders. I scoffed lightly, finding his ill humour entertaining.

"Hardly Marik. Besides, didn't Miss Laudadio say she was unveiling the production we were working on this year, today?" I questioned with a tilt of my head. I started to guide us towards the front gates before it started raining again, noticing everyone else ducking for cover. Mariks face pinched in remembrance. Grinning widely while removing his arm from around me, he face-palmed himself.

"How could I forget? I just hope we do something better than last year and not some frilly piece of crap," he said, eyes narrowing. He spoke the truth, the year before we performed "Suessical The Musical". Now I wasn't one to judge the teachers decisions, but I definitely felt like it was kind of immature, something I would see a high school perform, not a college.

I nodded at my friend, smiling as we made it inside the hallway that was now filling quickly with students. Marik and I made small talk until the bell signalled for us to go to our separate classes. Waving a hand in goodbye as I watched my friend leave, I turned to head into my piano classroom nearby.

The production meeting didn't start until after lunch and by that stage I was given another three pieces to practise for the piano by Mr Bedoin for overnight and a strangely familiar guitar piece from Mr Carson. Now my talent didn't lie in guitar or any modern day instruments, but I could certainly perform a few pieces if I was forced to, but I did favour piano or classical pieces a lot more since it was something I had learnt from a young age.

I didn't have many problems at college, only crowd control. It was near to impossible for someone to find an empty spot at a lunch table, so I relied heavily on my friends to get a spot before I got there. Close to the old wooden doors that led to the small café I spotted Yugi Mutou, another friend of mine from high school, sitting at a table by himself. Now Yugi was an extremely friendly guy and always proclaimed his ideas of what was wrong or right, making sure to stop any chaos from ensuring with his level-headed thinking. To be honest, I never talked to him before Marik showed up because I was afraid of his outgoing nature. However, once we both got settled into out new country he became a very close friend to both myself and Marik.

I walked up to the table, dodging the various people on my way and cracked a smile.

"Hi Yugi," I greeted, breaking him from his concentration on the papers in front of him. When he realised it was me he returned my smile with one of his own.

"Hey, Ryou. Have a good weekend?" He asked, placing a pen he was holding on the table and crossed his arms, I shrugged.

"Yeah I suppose. I received a call from my father on Saturday though, said he was visiting sometime this week," I replied lightly, mimicking his position. "How about you?" His smile widened.

"Pretty eventful. My Grandfather came home from Egypt and I was given a call back for my audition of Sweeney Todd, said they needed some fresh talent," He grinned, gesturing with his hands every now and again. I was happy for him. After all, Yugi, despite his small stature, had an amazing set of lungs on him and he deserved it. I gave him a heart-warming smile.

"That's excellent Yugi! Though I never had any doubt you wouldn't," I winked, making him blush from the compliment. He bowed his head in modestly and turned his amethyst eyes towards me, giving me a doubtful look.

"You really think so?" He asked, cracking a slight smile while still blushing. I nodded feverishly; he never gave himself enough credit.

"Of course, who else do I know who can act better?" I asked rhetorically, resting my cheek on my left hand, smile never wavering. Yugi beamed at me, still blushing profusely. He waved a hand in a 'stop it' motion.

"You know Ryou, someday you're going to bloat my ego so much that I won't be able to make it through the door with the size my head will be," He commented, chuckling, "But thank-you Ry". I grinned happily at him. I was glad I'd made him happy and maybe boosted his once dwindling self-esteem too. I was just pulling out my lunch when Marik showed up at the table looking somewhat annoyed and threw himself into the seat next to me, hiding his head in his folded arms. I cocked an eye-brow.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I questioned, opening my sandwich and gave him a worried look. Mariks violet eyes peeked out from under his arms and he sighed.

"I've got so much friggen work to do!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air, startling Yugi and myself. "Mr Carson just gave me a whole productions worth of music to study, said it was important for the musical we're doing. So I now have a week, a _week,_ to memorize it in!" He then reached into his bag and pulled out a massive stack of papers, all with corrections and music on them. I found myself speechless. Mr Carson taught guitar, something Marik excelled at, but I'd never seen him give out so much work before. I took a bite out of my lunch before speaking.

"I wonder why that is…," I trailed off, hoping to come up with an idea to what we may be performing. "Do any of these sheets have a title or composer? Something to identify the musical with?" I questioned, glancing at the pages Marik was flipping through. The Egyptian huffed.

"Well I guess it ain't too bad. I mean, it seems like a rock musical with a lot of electric guitar solos," he smiled briefly, "But I wonder why they chose me to do it," he tapped him chin in thought. Yugi seemed to have come up with an option.

"It could be Phantom of the Opera?" He suggested, but Marik shook his head.

"I've seen the Phantom of the Operas sheet music and these don't seem to have as big, orchestra pieces," he scratched his blonde head in frustration, screwing up his eyes, "It may be Rent. But again, Rent is all rock, with very little orchestra," his eyes skimmed the pages, trying to think up an invisible tune, "It seems like this musical has an even amount of rock and orchestra, but I can't figure it out." I patted his back in comfort, shrugging.

"Why don't we just wait? I'm sure Miss Laudadio will tell," I suggested, giving both friends a smile. Yugi chuckled lightly.

"Pffft, of course Miss Laudadio will tell. I mean, she gets so excited this time of year and she probably can't stand having to wait." The spiky haired male said. It was true though, the performance coordinator was an extremely bubbly woman who loved the theatre and stressed over simple things.

Both Marik and I laughed at that and the three of us then started talking about other topics until the bell for afternoon classes rang, signalling for us to make our way to auditorium number one.

This particular auditorium was the biggest the academy had and held quite a lot of people. It was a three story building, towering over the rest of the school in its old structure. Yugi, Marik and I were making our way to some seats next to some of our other friends as I glanced at the stage to see what was going on. Miss Laudadio, Mr Carson, Mr Bedoin and Mrs Theocard, the stage manager, were all in a heated discussion of some type. Marik pulled on my arm to get me to follow him to our seats next to Joey Wheeler, a Brooklyn exchange student and Duke Devlin.

While I'd met Marik and Yugi in high school, Joey and Duke I met in college on the first day. Although they both have extremely outgoing personalities compared to me, I still got along fine with them.

As the three of us were sitting down, the other two men waved a friendly 'hello', which we returned. I looked towards the stage again and noticed Miss Laudadio was trying to get the student body's attention, but failing miserably. Marik lent over to me, not taking his eyes off the stage.

"You'd think she'd have learnt from years of experience that we don't shut up until shouted at," he then lent away, chuckling dryly. I saw Mrs Theocard waltz past Miss Laudadio, microphone in hand and flinched, knowing what was coming next.

"WILL YOU ALL SHUT UP SO WE CAN BEGIN!" Mrs Theocard yelled, almost blowing the heads off all the students in the auditorium. It got all of them to be quiet at least, or mainly stunned them into it.

Murmuring a quick thank-you to the stage manager, Miss Laudadio grabbed the microphone off her to use while the two male teachers in the background on the stage laughed to themselves. Well, until Mrs Theocard glared at them that is. Some of the students laughed at the display, but most remained silent to let the organiser talk.

"Ok, so now that I have your attention, I'm going to go over what is going to be happening throughout the year," she began and flipped to a page on the clipboard she was holding, "After this assembly has concluded, all of your classes will be based around the musical for the _whole _year." There were a few grumbles from the audience, but Miss cleared her throat to get their attention. "Now I don't want to see any sad faces or slackers, or else you can leave right now and never come back." That seemed to shock everyone, but no one got up, she smiled at that.

"Well, now that we are all sorted, it's time to announce the musical we shall be performing at the end of the year!" She exclaimed, almost jumping in her seat. I glanced at my friends in the row next to me and it seemed like they were just as enraptured as her. Turning my attention back to Miss Laudadio, I saw her grinning secretly. "It is a well known play, based off a famous book from the eighteen hundreds. Written and composed by Frank Wildhorn in the nineteen-nineties and performed all over the world..," she paused for a dramatic effect, "Students. We will be presenting 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'," she finished. There were a few mumbles of confusion from the audience and Miss rolled her eyes at their lack of knowledge. "For those of you who have never heard of the story or seen the production, it is about a man, Dr Henry Jekyll and his pursuit of separating good from evil in order to rid the world of chaos. However, his plan backfires when he creates an evil identity of himself; Mr Edward Hyde who murders everyone Jekyll knows and loves. Quite the tragic tale if you ask me." She let everyone think the play through with curiosity.

I was intrigued at the aspects of the play, I'd heard of it before, and even played a song from it once on the piano to myself. What really interested me was the sheer talent someone had to have, not only in singing, but in acting, in order to pull off the two man split. I wondered who'd be good for the part. Yugi would have been perfect for Jekyll; I just didn't know how he'd fair performing Hyde's scenes. I'd have to wait and see who got the part before assuming anything though. Miss Laudadio captured the audiences' attention again.

"Now students, I know you're all probably excited to find out more and be dismissed, but I would like to announce that the auditions for the lead parts," she flipped another pages on her clipboard, "Dr Henry Jekyll slash Mr Edward Hyde, Lucy Harris, Emma Carew, John Utterson, Sir Danvers Carew, Simon Stride, Lord Savage, Bishop of Basingstoke, Lady Beaconsfield, Sir Archibald Proops, Lord Glossop, Spider, Nellie and Poole will be held tomorrow at lunchtime, no later. There will also be a sign-up sheet on your way out. Think hard you men wanting to be Jekyll/Hyde, for it is an extremely difficult part to perform correctly. The sign-up sheet also has information as to what type of singing voice is suited to each part, so choose wisely people! Also, make sure that you brush up on your English because this play is entirely written in it! That is all for now, you're all dismissed," she finished, turning off her microphone and placing it in a holder before her and the other teachers walked off the stage. Marik immediately turned to me.

"Well, that was exciting," he rolled his eyes, "But it actually sounds good, surprisingly. Too bad I can't audition though," he sighed sadly. It was a college rule that if you were picked to do a certain part before try-outs you couldn't receive another part, and Marik managed to get given the role of lead guitarist, leaving him with no other options. I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, there's always next year Mar and I won't be auditioning," the Egyptian fixed me with a hard stare, "don't give me that look Marik, you know how I get when performing in front of people," I sighed, dropping my hand from his shoulder and became interested in the carpeted floor. Before Marik could comment though, I began again. "I know I took singing and a few acting lessons as a kid, but that isn't enough to get a part in a full blown production. I wouldn't stand a chance against the singers anyway," I sighed again, turning my head to see Mariks kohl covered face, full of sympathy and…defiance? Oh no, he wasn't. He wasn't going to talk me into it again! The tanned male grinned at my expression for surely it would have look humourous, to anyone but me!

"Now Ryou," he began in an innocent tone. He was up to no good. "You know how I feel when you start putting yourself down," I looked to the increasingly interesting ground again, trying to not let his words get through. "You know what? Just for that, I'm gonna sign you up anyway!" He exclaimed, grabbing his stuff and standing up. He began to walk away as what he just said computed into my brain.

Bolting from my seat, I ran all the way up to the evil Egyptian, not minding that our other friends were currently waiting for us to leave and were shouting at us. I stepped in front of the departing man and attempted a glare, stopping him in his tracks. Marik started chuckling.

"You really don't know how to be intimidating, do you?" He questioned, raising an eye-brow at my obvious pout that was supposed to be a glare. I sighed lowly towards him.

"Marik, please don't. You know how I feel about the whole 'acting business'. I can't do it! And you just proved it with the whole 'I don't know how to be intimidating' thing. I can't act and even if I was given the role of Jekyll, how on earth will I ever be able to act evil when I'm Hyde?" I stopped to breath and give him time to think. Marik pursed his lips in thought, and then nodded to himself.

"Fine then Ryou," he said, sticking a pointer finger near my face, "But just so you know. I expect you to try out with me for next year's production," he finished, smiling widely. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and gave Marik a weak smile.

"Thank-you Marik," I said softly, throwing my arm around him to give him a friendly hug. He returned it for a bit before an awkward cough broke us up. It was Joey, giving us an irked expression.

"Look guys, I dun wanna break up this lil' 'love fest' you're having, but people are starting to stare", he said, gesturing to the intrigued individuals who had obviously stopped to see what was going on. Both Marik and I blushed at the realisation and also started to cough awkwardly, scratching the back of our heads. Joey chuckled lightly at us.

"Well, now that that's over with, how bout we go to our next classes?" He asked, walking behind us and throwing both arms over our shoulders. Marik and I nodded as we were led out into the hallway. Marik, once we'd made it out into the hallway, suddenly perked up at something, giving each of us a secretive smile.

"Guys…I gotta go to the toilet. I'll see you after school?" The Egyptian said, glancing towards the toilets across from us. I didn't like the smile he was giving us, but we let him go anyway.

What I didn't think of doing was checking to see what Marik was up to, because what he did next probably changed the outcome of the next few days and probably the rest of my life.

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><p><strong><span>AN: There we are! I've kinda left it at a bit of a cliffhanger. Yes, Ryou is suppose to be rich for a reason and I've also let him be a little bit more bold than the manga and anime. Speaking of which, I like using the English Dubs names because I'm writing in English. Sorry if it doesn't float any of your boats...**

**Well...until next time...**

**R&R please!**

**~Grace**


	3. This Is The Moment

**A/N: Hey again everyone! I'd just like to thank all the reviewers for their kind words on the last chapter! I appreciate it! Keep them coming and I'll be encouraged to write more!**

**I'd just like to point out my success in getting the productions actual script, it was horrible to try and find**

**Now onward to the next chapter and hopefully this'll be a bit more interesting.**

**Disclaim ownership for both Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, also yugioh!**

**Info to know:**

**Marik Ishtar= Hikari**

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><p><strong>This Is The Moment<strong>

_For all these years,_  
><em>I've faced the world alone,<em>  
><em>And now the time has come<em>  
><em>To prove to them I've made it on my own!- <strong>Dr Henry Jekyll<strong>_

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><p>I woke up the next morning similarly to the day prior. I'd ignored the reminder of the market that was suppose to be on and instead opted to just get the bread and milk from the supermarket in town. I told myself I'd need the tea in the morning and I ended up doing just that. Now that I had my daily fix I'd be able to function better than I had the day before. The day was, after all, a big day. Auditions for the leading roles were to be performed and I'd been asked by Mr Scully, the schools composer, to play the pieces for each person wanting to try out, on piano.<p>

The day moved faster than I had expected and I found myself sitting in front of the theatres baby grand piano, waiting for the next person to try. Marik had also joined for the guitar parts and so he was sitting next to me.

All of the other places had already been filled with call backs and it was almost time for the Dr Jekyll/ Mr Hyde auditions. I actually knew some of the people who had tried out for the other parts. Serenity Wheeler, Joeys sister, had auditioned for the role of Emma Carew and successfully received a call back, Duke Devlin had also gotten a call back for the part of Poole, due to the part being acting rather than singing, and Mai Valentine (a good friend of Yugi, Marik and I) had actually been given the part on the spot for Lucy Harris.

As I had guessed, Yugi ended up signing and was sitting with us, waiting for his call while the teachers were getting ready for the next part. The shorter males' tri-coloured hair was drooped slightly as he bobbed up and down with nerves.

"I don't know you guys. What if I throw up or something, on stage?" he said, voice reaching hysterics. Marik was flipping through his music sheet folder and stopped to give Yugi a dry look.

"You won't, Yugi. You managed to try out for Sweeney Todd without up chucking, did you not?" the blonde questioned bluntly with a cock of his eye-brow. I was watching the conversation with interest, my fingers idly tapping at the keys in front of me. Yugi fixed Marik with a worried look.

"But that was for a small part, Mar," the shorter male retorted, shaking with both excitement and nerves. I gave him a smile from the bench.

"Yugi, you'll do fine, I know you will," I said comfortingly; however his face remained pinched with worry. I stood up to go over to him, but just as I did, his name was called and so I sat back down and gave him a thumbs up.

"Good luck!" I whispered to him as he passed to go talk with Miss Laudadio. He turned to give me a slight, nervous smile and hurriedly ran to the middle of the stage. Marik gave me a withered look, putting his guitar strap back over his head and lent over to turn his amp on.

"That guy's gonna run himself into the ground if he ain't careful," the blonde stated, shaking his head, "though I do hope he doesn't end up vomiting", he shuddered. I gave him a perk of an eye-brow.

"And you're going to end up jinxing him if you aren't careful," I chastised lightly, opening my sheet music back up to a random page before we were told what track Yugi'd have to perform. Marik merely smirked at me and we both turned to pay attention to what was being said by the teachers.

"Now, Mr Mutou, I would like you to read out a few lines from this script I'm about to give you and then we'll get started on your singing," Miss Laudadio said, handing Yugi a sheet, most likely with the script on it. I decided to give my friend a bit of privacy, given the stressful situation he was in and diverted my attention back to the ebony and ivory keys in front of me, letting my thoughts wonder.

I'd always had a love for the piano. How it conveys emotions and whisks you to a different place, sometimes peaceful, sometimes horrible. I'd been playing since I was old enough to eat by myself, my fingers being only stumps at the time. I'd seen my father play and once, while he wasn't looking, I took it upon myself to find out more about this increasingly interesting instrument. My father then found me tapping away at the keys, curious as to why I decided to do what I'd just done. I then blabbed about my wonderment in the sound maker in the language only a four year old knew. Since then, I'd been taking strict lessons, moving upward in grades and gradually honing in my skills.

However, that was before the accident that caused me to lose both my mother and little sister, and before I was even in Japan. I'd learnt to cope with the loss, but my father hadn't. Just six months after the funeral he decided it was time to move and he chose his hometown, Domino. But this wasn't just for the reason to re-visit his roots, no. My father, Mr Bakura, was curator of the museum and chose to move closer so he could keep an eye on things. He was an archaeologist and had an immense interest in ancient Egypt, something I believed he loved more than me. But, by the time we got settled into our new home, me attending Domino High, he was sent on trips around the world, eventually leaving me with no trace, but income and rare phone calls.

However, I was never mad at him for doing so. I knew why he had done what he did. Missing his wife and daughter terribly, my father couldn't stand the guilt that came with being a single parent and it lead him down the path, gradually learning to ignore his only son. Yes, it was harsh, but I also learned how to fend for myself and forgave him for it.

Reminding myself to call him later about his visit, I broke out of my reverie to see Marik staring at me with a curious, and slightly worried look etched on his face. A slow blush crept its way into my cheeks as he continued to stare. Irked by the look, I finally broke my gaze from his.

"Yes, Marik?" I questioned, unsure of why he'd been staring at me. Chancing a glance upward towards his face I was startled slightly by the grin that claimed it. However, it wasn't one of those 'happy' grins, but more of an 'I know something you don't know' kind of looks. The blonde was plotting something, I could feel it.

"Oh, nothing," he replied, smirk never lifting from his face, "just staring into space." I wasn't very convinced that that was the real reason, but let it slide. Well, until he brought up the following topic that was.

"I was just thinking….Why don't you just try out? It's not like you're going to loose anything by not getting the part," he asked, leaning against the piano with his elbow. I sighed.

"I thought we'd been over this," I spoke, trying to keep the disdain out of my voice, "I can't." Mariks eye-brow raised in curiosity.

"And why is that?" He pushed, circling his hand in a 'go on' motion and drawing out each word. I sighed once again, thinking his question was ludicrous, but decided to reply nonetheless.

"Because…remember our second year of high school?" I waited for him to nod to continue, "And remember when the school decided to perform a play?" he nodded again, "when I got the lead role and when it came time for performance night I tripped and fell off the stage, breaking numerous amounts of bones from the height of the fall?" Marik pulled an 'oh' face, realising what I was getting at, however he still looked a little unsure.

"So, you're saying that you won't tryout because of one bad performance?" he questioned, an unimpressed expression readable on his face. I shook my head in a 'no' action, resting my elbow softly on the keys beneath me so I didn't make a sound.

"No. Not just one time. Try three other failed attempts. Once when I was in kindergarten, playing Joseph in the nativity and threw up on the girl playing Mary because I ate a bad sandwich. Once when I was in primary school, singing a solo in choir and forgot my lines, effectively wreaking the rest of the show. And finally, the time in high school when I had to make a speech in front of our English class and my voice kept breaking, making everyone poke fun at me because of it." I recalled, a deep blush finding its way onto my face as I remembered these embarrassing moments. Glancing back up at Mariks face, I noticed that the man was trying his hardest not to burst out laughing. I made my glare-pout at him, which seemed to do nothing but make him want to laugh harder. I waited patiently for him to calm down, which he eventually did to my satisfactory.

"Ok…So you've had a few bad experiences," he shrugged, grinning, "funny experiences," he corrected. Calming himself down again, he smiled at me, "but does it matter?" he asked.

"Well, yes…"

"Why?"

"….Because."

"Because why?"

"Just, because."

"Because why?"

"Because bad luck follows me around like a plague, that's why!" I shrieked earning a well aimed hush and glare from Miss Laudadio, causing me to blush again and mouth a 'sorry' towards her. Turning back to Marik to find that godforsaken smirk still in place, I narrowed my eyes. "Why is this so important to you now Marik? You've never questioned me about it before…" I drew out, suspicion prominent in my tone. The grin still didn't falter as he shrugged once again.

"Just curious is all. I also think you'd make an awesome Jekyll," he replied. This time I didn't blush from the compliment due to my increasing suspicion of him.

"Thank-you, but as I said yesterday, how would I be playing Hyde?" I questioned with a tilt of my head, white hair sticking in my eyes. Blowing the strands away, I gazed at Marik who had a contemplative look on his face, violet eyes difficult to read.

To my surprise, he slowly stood up so he didn't bump his now amplified guitar and reached over with one of his tanned hands to rub my hair roughly. I squeaked in alarm and pulled away from the offending hand, ready to refix my now messier hair.

"Wait!" Marik called, raising his palm, signalling me to stop. I stopped and gazed at him underneath my fringe, wondering what he was up to. He had another thoughtful look on his face as he tapped his chin. "That could work," he said, more to himself than to me.

"What could?"

"That," he said, pointing towards my tangled locks. I raised an eye-brow at him, but he then signalled for me to glance in a nearby stage mirror. Slowly, I turned my head and what I saw shocked me.

I looked demonic. Sure, my eyes gave away the innocence, but my hair successfully covered them enough to hide that fact. My white hair was sticking up at the oddest angles I'd ever seen, making me look like I had some sort of devil horns. Such a simple thing completely changed the way I could have been seen to an outsider and I didn't actually mind it.

"I think you could do it. All you'd need to work on is the voice and probably the glare, but I think you would make an acceptable Hyde, Ryou," Mariks' voice said from behind me. I was still a bit perplexed. How would I be able to act evil when I didn't have a shred of evil in me? Apparently my old friend believed in me, but I wasn't sure I could believe in myself. Even if I'd wanted to go, I was too late to sign up anyway.

"I can't Marik. Even if I really wanted to, it's too late," I said, not overly fazed with the idea of not acting. I glanced at his face to see his reaction and found the same secretive smile he had on only moments ago. I was about to reply when-

"Mr Bakura and Mr Ishtar, if you are done chatting could you please turn your music books to page twenty and play 'this is the moment'?" Miss Laudadio interrupted, fixing an evil stare of us, almost daring us to question her. Marik and I glanced at each other quickly, and then vigorously turned to the page she'd asked us to. Gazing towards Yugi who was still jittery and then the teacher for the cue, I let my mind shut down as my fingers glided gracefully across the keys.

It was the song I'd studied once before in high school. I remembered the key changes and climatic finish, singing along to it in my mind. It really was a beautiful song and captured the emotions Dr Jekyll felt as he began his experiment. It was a similar feeling I usually felt when I'd begun composing some of my own music, elated and proud that I was taking the first steps to making myself known as something more than a school band member.

Hearing Yugi sing was brilliant. His singing classes had definitely paid off and he performed the high notes with striking clarity. The man was made for the role and I hoped he'd get it. The only thing I could find a little wrong with it was the way he pronounced some words. He obviously hadn't spoken in English for a while and was in need of practise.

Coming down from the height of the music, Yugi finished his final note to perfection and bowed to the minuscule audience that had attended. Apparently he'd received a call back, which was what I was expecting and he looked immensely proud of that fact. Saying a few words to the teachers first, he then made his way back over to us, broad smile on his face.

"So, what did you guys think?" he asked, purple eyes glistening with glee as he bobbed up and down again, this time from the adrenaline rush that came with a performance. Marik was first to reply with a wide grin gracing his features as he brought his hands together in a clap.

"You were awesome Yugi. See? No vomit or trips to the hospital!" the blonde exclaimed after a few short claps, gesturing to the clean stage floorboards with a hand. Yugi looked sheepish at the comment, scratching the back of his head with his hand while biting his lip.

"Heh, yeah…I guess I got worked up for nothing, eh?" The spiky haired male asked. Both Marik and I nodded our heads in agreement, making the shortest of us chuckle. "Ok guys, thanks for the encouragement! I should probably head off now though, can't keep Miss Moss waiting!" Both of us waved goodbye to our friend as he exited out the rear of the theatre. Sighing to ourselves, the Egyptian and I prepared ourselves for another round of tryouts.

* * *

><p>The trials went longer than I'd expected and both my hands were incredibly sore by the end of it. Quite a few people, like Yugi, had received call backs for Thursday's performance. Some were better at acting while others were better at singing, and some were even booed offstage by the audience. It was a harsh time as this was the most important role of the show and if the teachers chose wrong, it could ruin the whole performance. Hearing Miss Laudadio sigh, I turned to hear what she had to say to us.<p>

"Only one more to go after this you two," I heard Marik sigh with relief next to me after she'd said this, "you've done a marvellous job," she complimented, making me blush and Marik preen. Going back to cue the beginning of 'the way back', Miss Laudadio settled back into her chair just off stage in the front row.

Since I'd been playing the same few tracks all day, I didn't find the need to constantly gaze at the music sheets in front of me and decided to glance around the hall instead. I first gazed at the man singing. He wasn't bad, but some of the high notes he tended to miss. Tearing my eyes from him I went to see the teachers' faces.

Mrs Theocard looked quite bored as she tapped her pen against the judging table in front of her. Mr Lloyd, the senior singing teacher, was muttering under his breath, presumably about the singers flat notes. Mrs Jane, the senior drama teacher, was swaying to the music, obviously tired. I finally let my eyes rest on Miss Laudadio, who had a confused look on her face. Directed completely at me.

I gulped. Why was she staring? She knows I can play without music when I know it enough, so why was she confused? I diverted my gaze back to the keys in front of me to concentrate more on my playing than the reason behind the staring. Finishing the song, I lent back to stretch out my sore back and found Mariks guitar thrusted into my arms.

"Wha…?" I let out, but Marik shook his head.

"Just hold it while I go to the toilet please? I'm busting!" He said, doing a little jump as he waited for me to respond. I slowly nodded my head and he ran off, up the stairs and out of the theatre. I sat there, waiting for him to come back and I didn't hear Miss Laudadio call out my name.

"Mr Bakura…" I didn't respond.

"Bakura…" I still didn't.

"RYOU BAKURA!" Well, that I heard. It came from an extremely grumpy Mrs Theocard who had her arms crossed in front of her chest. I gulped again.

"Yes…?" I questioned meekly. Miss Laudadio took over with a more calming expression on her face.

"Mr Bakura. I have on this list the last name to tryout," she stated bluntly. I gave her a confused tilt of the head.

"But what does that have to do with me miss?" I asked shyly, teachers always did scare me a little, even now as an adult. It was her turn to look confused as she glanced back down at her page to check something.

"It says that you're the last tryout, 'Mr Ryou Bakura'," She replied, meeting my eyes. I was stunned into silence, my mouth dropping open.

"Ex-excuse me?" I questioned shakily. I was hoping I'd heard wrong, that I didn't have to act and sing in front of them, that I was dreaming, anything!

"Ryou, your name is on the list for the tryouts," she stated again, making my assumptions correct. I stayed there for a little longer, not feeling anything around me.

Eventually it clicked. Marik was behind this. After he went to the toilet yesterday he purposefully signed my name up! He promised he wouldn't too! He was probably going to the toilet so he wouldn't have to face my wrath, or lack thereof. I was going to give him a piece of my mind once I got out of there! The nerve of him! I'd yell and scream and-

"Mr Bakura. If you are done gaping like a fish, would you please move to the middle of the stage so we can give you the script to act out," Miss Laudadio said, interrupting me from my thoughts. I was terrified, but I had to or else I'd get punished for wasting the teachers and students watching, time. I heard a few laughs in the audience that caused me to blush profusely and hurried towards centre stage.

The lights were bright in my face, almost glaring at me to try anything. Squinting my eyes towards the first row where the teachers were sitting, I reached out to grab the script from Mrs Janes awaiting hand with one of my shaky ones.

"Now, Mr Bakura. I am aware that you come from England, is that correct?" Mrs Jane asks, I nodded, "Good, well then I hope you don't mind speaking in English for a little while," I shook my head, "Great! Well let's get started!" She exclaimed in English. She then proceeded to grab Mr Scully from his seat and push him up the steps of the stage next to me, the teacher complaining the entire time, receiving many chuckles from the audience as well. As he came to stand beside me, Mrs Jane also thrusted a sheet into his hands and went back to her position in front of the table of teachers.

"Ok now Mr Bakura, the scene you're about to perform is from 'Act two, scene six', just after Dr Jekyll and Mr Utterson come back to the doctors home from the night club. If you would, Mr Scully, like to begin…" she trailed off, waiting for the other teacher to begin his lines. Clearing his throat, the composer straightened his back to begin.

"O come on, Henry," he spoke, doing his best impression of an English accent. I almost laughed at his attempt. Almost. I breathed deeply to myself as I, too, straightened up to say my lines as best I could.

"Th-thank-you for the relaxation, if that's what it was," I said, speaking in English for the first time since my father had called, trying to sound sarcastic enough though my shakiness.

"Would've been if you ever stopped brooding over your damnable theories for a single moment," Mr Scully replied exasperatingly. Smiling, I continued, opening up a little from the essential nerves.

"I did discover something essential tonight, old friend…" I drew out, pointing towards the teacher with a finger light-heartedly.

"What was that?" he asked, confused. My face stretched into a grin.

"My volunteer!" I exclaimed happily, spreading my hands wide.

"Henry? You can't possibly?" he shrieks while I began to walk towards an invisible Laboratory. Mr Scully followed me, "Hey! Where are you going?"

"To my Laboratory! I am going to work tonight, I must!" I replied as I continued up the stage, further away from the teachers at the front.

"But, Henry wait!..." he called. I turned back around to face him, lost in the moment of acting.

"No, John, no. I've made up my mind. I know now exactly where I can get a volunteer. The experiment must move forward now!" I said, continuing with my escape to nowhere.

"You need to rest Henry! You're playing for high stakes; you're gambling your entire career! Your reputation! And Emma's future!" He said, making me pause mid-step as I gave Mr Lloyd an invisible jacket off the left side of the stage.

"Good evening, sir," Mr Lloyd said, bowing slightly.

"Henry. Promise me you are not contemplating a volunteer from the Red Rat," Mr Scully suggested. I swung around at him, outraged.

"Oh, Good heavens John! Do you think me such an unprincipled character?" I questioned him, accent ringing strong while I raised a white eye-brow at him.

"No!" he paused to think, "It is just you have a lot to lose, you must think of the consequences," I scoffed at the notion.

"If all I thought about were the consequences, I'd never accomplish anything," I replied, thinking about how right those words were, giving me the strength to carry on at my best.

"And what does that mean?" the teacher questioned, cocking an eye-brow of his own in confusion. I sighed.

"Some fires you just have to walk through by yourself..." I drew, glancing down at the floor with some sadness. Mr Scully gave up and walked up to Mr Lloyd, exhausted with effort.

"Poole, could you talk some sense into him, then send him straight to bed, he must have rest, so must I, I'm going home," he said tiredly to Mr Lloyd.

"Quite right, sir, I'll do what I can," Mr Lloyd replied obediently, bowing to the man as he began to make his exit off the stage.

"Goodnight," Mr Scully farewelled towards the acting butler. I turned back around to him as he made his leave.

"Be careful John, Hyde Park is dangerous at night," I cautioned, a warning in my tone. Mr Scully rolled his eyes towards me.

"So are you Henry, be careful, and for God's sake go straight to bed. Good night, Henry," I nodded at him in reply as he made his way off the stage to sit back down with his fellow teachers. Mr Lloyd walked up to me.

"Anything more you need, sir?" he asked me. I thought for a moment with a blank face.

"Steer the fire, Poole."

"Of course, sir."

"And then go to bed, I won't be needing you any more this evening," I commanded, hating the impoliteness of the characters' tone I had to put on. Mr Lloyd then started to steer an invisible fire place as I stood instead of sat, a thoughtful look gracing my face. He finished steering and began to walk off stage.

"Poole!" I called to him, making him quickly turn around.

"Sir?"

"You knew my father in his best days...His mind and spirit were extremely strong weren't they?" I questioned with strength in my voice I didn't know I had, like I was talking about my real father.

"He was the finest gentleman I ever knew, sir," he stated, I frowned to myself.

"I must do it for his sake..." I muttered under my breath, catching Mr Lloyd's interest.

"Sir?"

"Nothing Poole….Goodnight," I waved him off, still showing a mask of thought on my face.

"Good night…sir," and then he left the stage, finishing the rest of the lines.

The teachers exploded into applause immediately after I'd finished getting out of character, making me duck my head in modesty. I heard a cheer from the right side of the stage and followed it to find Marik sitting in his stool, clapping along with the rest. I met his eyes in an 'I need to talk with you' feeling and he got the hint, grinning at me sheepishly.

Turning back to the teachers who were slowly stopping their clapping, I smiled. I'd never felt so light in my entire life! The emotions that came with the role were astounding and I'd actually accomplished it! Sure, some of the expressions I needed work on, but I had the steps down. Now all I needed to achieve was the singing, the hardest bit. I just hoped they didn't make me sing a Hyde song because I didn't think I was quite ready for it. Mr Lloyd stepped forward, making his presence known.

"Now, Mr Bakura, I would like you to sing for me the next part of the script. I'm assuming it's 'this is the moment'?" I checked the sheet I was holding and nodded, "good! Now when I count you in I want you to sing like you're in character again, desperate to find an answer," the singing teacher finished. He turned and said something to Mr Scully who sighed exasperatingly, stood up and went off to the piano I'd previously occupied.

Mr Lloyd gave him a signal and he began to press the notes, Marik following with his guitar. I inhaled shakily, trying to calm my now increasing nerves as I stood under the stage lights. It'd been a while since I'd sung in front of anyone, much less a hall with an audience, so I had a perfect reason to be nervous. The note came, telling me to begin and I did.

As I knew, the song began soft, unsure and slow, gradually growing until it hit the peak. I sang my best, whether it was good enough or not, I wasn't sure, but I tried all the same. I grasped the feelings needed, but I believed I lacked the vocal skill to pull it off. I sang high, I sang low and everything in between, trying to show the raw emotion that was suppose to be felt by Henry Jekyll at the time. My voice grew with confidence as I continued; reaching a volume I wasn't even sure I could before. A feeling of elation burst forth from within me and I wasn't sure if it was good or not because my eyes weren't fixed on the audience, but the rafters or the heavens.

All too soon the song came to a close and I ended my final note 'all' as strongly as I had during it. The music faded and I was left with the applause of the audience once again for my efforts. It broke the trance I'd found myself in and I smiled internally, proud of my accomplishment.

"Well it looks to me like we've found our perfect Jekyll," Miss Laudadio called to all the people in the hall, rendering me speechless, "However," there was a pause, "we need to see how you'd fair when acting and singing as Hyde," I gulped, "Which is why we would like to see you back at the call backs on Thursday to perform again for us," she finished. It took me a while to realise what she had just said.

I…got a call back…

….a call back….

….call back….

What?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well there it is! And I've just realised how I can't help but put some humour in a horrorfic, I guess it's just how I roll. =P**

** At the moment the language and story seem very K+ worthy, but don't you worry! The reason for the rating will show itself soon!**

**Also, Mr Scully, Mr Lloyd and Miss Moss are all teachers in my school if you're interested, the rest are made up by me. Hope you'll stay tuned for more!  
><strong>

**Please R&R!**

**~Grace**


	4. Take Me As I Am

**A/N: Ok, first I'm so sorry I haven't updated in about a year, but I've had a lot of things to work out. I thank everyone that's been interested in this fic (both here and on dA) and don't worry! I'll push the updates out sooner from now on. Just be patient.**

**Info to know:**

**Hikari Marik= Marik**

**Yami Marik= Malik**

* * *

><p><strong>Take Me As I Am<strong>

_But where's the prize_

_I have my eyes on?_

_Where?_

_There is just no knowing! - Dr Henry Jekyll_

* * *

><p>I collected the sheet music and script in somewhat of a trance. I didn't even realise that Marik had guided me all the way outside next to his motorbike until the pressure I felt on my shoulder disappeared. Suddenly I felt a helmet get thrust into my arms and I was thankful I'd put my sheets away in my bag beforehand. Catching the helmet before it fell to the wet ground, I gave Marik a confused expression. He replied with a raise of his blond eyebrows.<p>

"Well…put it on will you," he insisted. I paused for a while, having no idea where he wanted to take me and somewhat afraid as to what he might do if I didn't comply with his wishes, I decided to go along for the ride anyhow. Forcing the padded hat onto my damp head I waited for Marik to bring the bike to life before settling precariously behind him and loosely gripping his sides for balance. I had ridden with him before, (didn't exactly like riding in such a girlish position mind you) but that was when I knew where we were going and now I sort of wanted to just go home and study.

Marik revved his bike a few times before darting out of the collage parking lot and sped down the highway. Finally getting used to the cold air on my cheeks I tried to look at the blonds' face, but was unsuccessful due to the sunglasses he was wearing. Instead, I decided to try a different tactic.

"Hey, Marik!" I shouted over the wind and traffic. He tilted his head to hear more clearly.

"Yeah?"

"Where are we going?" I asked, spotting a growing smirk on the other mans face.

"To the pub," he replied nonchalantly, turning his full attention back on the road ahead. I gaped at him, unable to respond for bit while trying to sort out why he'd dream of taking me to a pub when he knew I had alcohol at home.

"Why?" he merely grinned wider, if that was possible.

"You'll see," he answered secretively. I sighed and decided it wasn't worth asking further. Marik was always too stubborn to reveal anything until it was the 'perfect time' as he'd said since I met him.

Turning my eyes back to the road while hoping I wouldn't freeze my face off, I waited until we made it to this so called 'pub' he wanted to take me to.

* * *

><p>The pub itself was definitely not my forte. I liked calm and peaceful settings; places to be able to concentrate in, without noisy and obnoxious individuals to distract me from my increasingly stressful thoughts. I had to get back home and practice the lines before Friday and Marik was certainly not budging on his decision. Why he took me there, I wondered. He knew I disliked places like this. I also realised that I'd left my car at the campus and needed to get it before the college locked up for the night.<p>

The lighting in the pub was dim and I found myself squinting in order to focus on anything.

There was a rough, old looking bar on my left side with balding men with goodness knows how many tattoos covering their bodies serving drinks to people. If I had to use one word to describe them I'd say 'intimidating'. Was that an eye patch? Wow…that's a cliché if I'd ever heard one. I averted my gaze from the bar and saw a small stage on the right side with a woman standing on it, loud music booming from the amplifiers beside. Well, it's safe to say she wasn't wearing much. At all. Tearing my eyes from the….spectre I noticed that Marik was still dragging me. I also noticed that I was still trying to get out; most of my body was turned towards the door.

Suddenly, the yanking on my arm stopped.

"Will you stop being so difficult Ryou?" he huffed; violet eyes narrowed and mouth forming a scowl.

"I will….as soon as we leave," I replied, taking advantage of my free arm and quickly hurried towards the door again. Unfortunately, Marik was faster and came up behind me, turning my body with a strong arm around to face the inside again. I turned to look at his determined face, confusion written clearly across mine. Yanking myself out of his grasp again and instead of running I stood still, a question finally finding its way into my muddled mind. "Why are we here Marik?" I asked stiffly. At my discomfort the Egyptian grinned.

"Well, I thought that since you got that call-back that you might want to celebrate," he shrugged. My eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Why here?"

"I thought that you could use some positive atmosphere to help your inner Hyde," he answered, winking at me. I sighed.

"How is this even remotely positive Marik?" I honestly didn't like where this was going. His secretive smile stayed etched onto his face as he gestured to the bar with a wave of his hand. I nodded slowly at him to continue.

"There's someone I want you to meet," he said, facing away from me and into the crowd of the pub. I decided to stay behind him so I knew a friendly face among these…people. After a little while of shuffling through the crowd, Marik finally spotted whoever it was he was looking for and whom I saw was surprising.

He was Egyptian as well, I could tell from the smatter of kohl on his eyes, however he didn't wear nearing as much as Marik did on a normal day. What really stood out was the fact that he looked quite a bit like my best friend standing right next him. The difference? His hair was spiked up, making it look like he'd accidently electrocuted himself at some point in time, but that wasn't a nice thing to say. Besides, I wasn't…afraid of him.

Unlike Marik, who presented himself with an open and friendly aura, this…man, didn't. Dark purple eyes gazed back at me as I realised how tall he looked with his hair like that. Completely covered in black, a striking contrast to the white shirt I was wearing, and not to mention quite a few chains hanging from his belt as well as a few torn pieces here and there. The man was intimidating to a tea. I had suddenly found myself shaking subtly. However, thanks to a great friend our stare-off was interrupted.

"Ryou, meet Malik," Marik introduced, gesturing to the man who had a prominent scowl etched onto his face. I slowly extended a shaky hand out to him in greeting, nervous smile on my lips.

"N-nice to meet you," I replied, cursing myself for my nerves. He probably thought I was a fool, being scared of him and all. But I wasn't, exactly. I was just surprised by him is all. He fit into the bar scene extremely well though and I knew not all people were as bad as they appeared.

I hadn't realised I was still waiting for a handshake until I looked back up at him and caught his glaring gaze. He was scrutinising me closely, like I had something to hide. I lowered my hand and held his gaze with my own cautious one. He seemed like the observant type, one that thought first before acting. I could almost feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up as he observed me top to bottom. Then, he cracked a wry smirk and huffed lightly, surprising me by breaking the eye contact we had.

"Well, he certainly ain't much," he commented, slouching softly while crossing his arms. Mind you, this is all while I was spluttering indignations in my mind, careful not to comment back with something rash and instead waited until Marik hit him upside the head, preening slightly from it.

"No need to be rude ya Bastard!" Marik hissed, scowling lowly at his…relative? Friend?

"I'm just saying what I believe and I believe this guy doesn't have much to say for himself," Malik replied harshly, cocking a blond eyebrow at me. I bristled slightly. Just who did this man think he was? Suddenly I found some confidence to actually speak for once.

"Excuse me, Sir, but what," I paused, narrowing my eyes slightly, "exactly does that mean?" I questioned, boldly stepping closer to the taller man. He merely shrugged.

"I meant what I said," he closed his eyes, "I'm guessing you're what? Twenty-one?"

"Twenty-four actually," I interrupted, crossing my arms over my chest, making Malik open his eyes to look at me once again.

"Whatever," he huffed, "So you're twenty-two. I'm guessing you were brought up in a pretty cosy setting, am I right?" I nodded for him to continue, "Well that's just it ain't it? You haven't _done _anything," I opened my mouth to retort but he raised a hand to stop me, "No, I'm not taking about silly school awards or whatever. I'm taking about living life with a little risk," he finished nonchalantly.

I stared at him surprised. So I was right about him, he _could_ read people, and well for that matter. However, there was a reason I never 'lived life on the edge' as he put it. I'd been curious to try a few things in my high school years, but never perked up the courage to do it. I believed it was above me, so I stayed silent. That was also why I decided not to reply to him then.

"But anyway," he shrugged again, "nice to meet you, I guess," he then turned away from us towards the back of the bar, and tilted he head to look me in the eye, "you want a drink? Or is that above your highnesses wishes?" he questioned with a sneer. I stared heatedly at him for a moment. I wasn't going to back down to him; I've dealt with worse people in the past.

"Yes, I'll have a drink _please," _I said, stretching the mannerism out with a shallow hiss. He just cocked another eyebrow at me and sauntered on forward.

"Well _that _was pleasant," a voice said next to me. Marik, I presumed.

"You _think," _I questioned sarcastically, turning now pleading eyes to the Egyptian. To my surprise, he grinned at me.

"Well well, Does Ryou now have a backbone? I didn't know you could talk to people like _that," _he said, gesturing to Maliks' back with a smirk. I simply frowned at him.

"Well, he _was _insulting me."

"Still, maybe anger is what you need to channel for your performance on Friday," he stated off-handily. He just reminded me!

"Ah, yes that's right! I have a performance to practice for!" I said, backing away slowly. Marik scowled at me.

"Oh, no you don't Ryou! We're here to celebrate, remember?" he snarled, pushing me back towards the bar.

"But Marik, I left my car back at the campus! It'll get locked up in an hour and I don't particularly want to walk home!" I said, pushing my weight against his in hopes I could get free.

"It'll be fine!" he replied through clenched teeth, "I'll take you home, okay?" I stopped struggling to look at him. He was pleading with me now and I guess he just wanted to congratulate me…

"Fine, then!" I said, throwing my arms up in the air, then suddenly turned to Marik with a pointer finger, trying to look imposing, "but one drink only!"

* * *

><p>That no good, rotten, lying, son-of-an Aunt Petunia. I said one drink. I <em>meant <em>one drink and what does Marik do? Has about fifteen shots of gin plus a good five full glasses of beer! I suppose it was partially my fault too, I was having a chat with Malik at the time and wasn't exactly paying close attention, but still!

I was talking to Malik about the auditions that he'd brought up. He was giving me advice about being 'evil', or whatever. He said something about channelling a different persona into my performance to make it seem like I was Hyde. 'Think of me' he'd said with a chuckled, 'that will surely make you mad enough.' So it turned out that Malik was my best friends cousin who worked at the bar every now and then in order to 'improve his ways' whatever _that _meant. What I also found out that he was almost, dare I say…friendly? When he'd had enough alcohol within his system. But what was my current source of frustration was Marik.

His cousin said that he should just stay for the night (the bar was also a bistro, so he could actually say in a room) and I'd agree. The only problem being that I now had no way to get home except for walking and it was pitch black. I hadn't realised how late we'd stayed out until now and I was thoroughly annoyed, however I decided to grin and bare it. It really wasn't in my nature to be cross with anyone, and so, there I was at about one o'clock in the morning on a Tuesday night, walking home. It wasn't the walk I minded it was the cold. I'd left my jacket in my car, which was still sitting in the colleges' car park.

The streets had a very thick layer of fog cloaking them, giving the landscape an unhealthy eerie atmosphere. The only light sources came from the street lamps and I knew at one point I'd have to turn down one to get to my house. With all the news about thieveries in town, I was determined to stay alert for anyone who might want to cause trouble.

I decided to catch one of the late night buses as close to my home as it would take me (which really wasn't that close to be honest), however it was still warmer inside the bus than it was outside so I was thankful. I got off the bus and paid a good morning to the bus driver, making my way off to turn down the deserted street close by my house. However, along the way I saw three dark looking men standing in my way.

Deciding not to chance an attack, my senses being on high alert, I turned around to walk the other way. I didn't get the chance to start walking though as the men surrounded me. I was nervous, but I wouldn't let it show as I studied each one in detail.

All three were wearing woollen jumpers that came up to their nose with matching beanies that hid all but their eyes from me. Well, that ruled out identification if it came to a fight and it looked like they would win. True, I looked exceptionally weak, but if I was quick enough I might be able to escape in tact however it didn't look likely. They hadn't given me any room to run through and they were closing in, fast.

"Well, look a what we got here guys," one of the said, quickly eying his associate's with a tilt of his head. The other three chuckled, but I didn't see what was so funny. Deciding to see if they'd be swayed, I decided to speak.

"Hello fella's," I commented meekly, "May I please get through?" that only made them laugh.

"You hear this guy, dude's?" the apparent spokesperson questioned his posy. They nodded, still chuckling. "Got somewhere to be, girly?" he asked me. Girly? Now really, was this man even trying to come up with good insults? However, at that moment I was starting to get fearful. I was so close to home and I just had to run into these three.

"Home actually," I answered simply, looking beyond the speakers' head to where my house was situated up on the nearby hill, "so if I could please get through…" I tried to step around him, but accidently bumped the man before me with my shoulder. He obviously didn't like that because he pushed me back into the circle, herding me into a wall.

"Ahh ah ah, you ain't going anywhere, prissy," he smirked through his jumper as my back finally hit the wall with a resounding 'thump'. I was in danger now. They were either going to loot me or severely hurt me without any real reason. I wondered idly if they were friends of the thief who stole the jewellery the other day. It seemed plausible enough I suppose.

"W-why not?" I questioned shakily, noticing their closeness as I could feel their breath on my face.

"Because one," the leader counted off with his hand, "you bumped me and no one bumps me. And two," he suddenly flicked my collar with a dirtied finger, "you seem to be pretty well off, am I right?" I blinked back at him, a feeling akin to déjà vu stemmed at the back of my mind, remembering Maliks' words from earlier today, or yesterday. When I didn't answer, the thief grabbed my collar again, slamming me forward and back into the wall behind, making my back sting with the contact.

"Answer me!" he bellowed, much to his companions' glee. Revaluating my position, I looked back up at the man currently holding me against the wall and slowly nodded my head, scared that he might do something worse. A flash out the corner of my eye made me look toward the other two men, both of which were holding identical switchblades. I gulped, this was worse than I though.

"Well then, if you _please_," the speaker said, making me look at him, "give me your wallet and I'll let you go free," that made his partners eyes lose the gleam in them for a second, upset at their boss for not wanting to cut me I'm sure. There was just one problem. My bag, along with my sheets and phone were still in my car at the campus. I had no money to give them and I had no way of phoning for help.

"I-I don't have my wallet," I stuttered out, shrinking slightly from his face. The somewhat polite tone was completely gone in a second and he dropped me heavily on the ground.

"You're lying!" he growled, giving me a harsh kick to the stomach. I let out a wheeze of pain, clutching my hands to the forming bruise.

"I-I'm not!" I coughed out, looking up at the men pleadingly. They shared a simultaneous nod and a trickle of dread slid down my spine. The speaker gripped my hair from its roots and dragged me upwards, a hollow yell dying in my throat as I was punched by another one in the eye. My vision blurred and all I could see were shadows, all I could _feel_ was blinding pain. I felt like a sack, able to be pushed, pulled, hit and ripped in anyway they felt necessary. At one stage I was punched in the nose, feeling crimson blood drip down my face until all I could taste was blood.

There was blood everywhere. My blood to be exact. One of the minions had pulled their knife on me and had made a deep, gory cut on my cheek. All three were laughing with glee at my pain and I just wondered when it all would be over. I felt welts form on my chest and stomach from where I was kicked, almost to the point where they broke my bones.

One of them reached into my pocket as the others were thoughtlessly beating me to a bloody pulp, trying to find a wallet that wasn't there. I prayed to every God I knew in hopes of being saved from a fate as bad as this. That I hadn't even had a chance to see my father for one last time, that I'd let Marik down and that I wouldn't be able to live through the rest of my life. I prayed, begged and pleaded to make the hurting stop. That I'd learnt whatever lesson I was being taught.

I was blacking out every now and then as one of the men with a knife cut into my shoulder. I let out more and more agonising yelps as I had another kick my head.

However, finally, after about ten or so minutes of almost dying to the hands of these thugs, the attacks stopped. Did they think I was dead? I'd stopped yelling a while ago, but I was sure I'd whimpered quite a bit. But I chanced an excruciatingly painful look above to see they were no longer there.

I let out a sigh of relief and winced from the pain it caused. I tried to stand up even though it hurt so much to and succeeded even though I'd lost feeling to a lot of my limbs from the adrenaline of fear I'd felt during the attack.

Hobbling forward and using the wall as a leaning post, I slowly and surely made my way up the hill towards my house. The wind was biting my cuts, making it even more difficult to limp along. I could still feel the blood soaking my recently pure white top and shuddered a bit from the sensation. The tangy taste in my mouth was also still there as my nose continued to drip blood into my mouth. I hoped it wasn't broken because I couldn't get to a phone soon enough to call an ambulance.

I made it to the front of my house, praying that maybe, just maybe, luck would be on my side and those thugs hadn't taken my keys.

Of course, just to spite, they had and now I had no way of getting inside to treat my wounds. However, a stroke of something akin to fate happened the second I tried to sit on my front porch.

I heard a car coming cruising around the nearby corner and it turned up my driveway. Sure enough it happened to be my fathers black Sudan, coming to save me from my horrible ordeal. I just hoped he wouldn't punish me for being out and obviously getting into a brawl. A brawl I obviously wasn't a part of due to all the harm being inflicted on me.

While I was trying to put as little weight onto my left leg as I could, I continued to apply pressure to my shoulder in hopes it would stop the bleeding. My father then finally parked out the front like he'd always done and got out of his car. He hadn't seen me standing in the darkness out the front of the door yet and was getting his belongings out of his boot.[1]

He looked the exact same way I remembered. Bluish coloured hair tied up in a low ponytail, glasses placed precariously on the bridge of his nose and bridge brown eyes that matched my own. However, unlike my body, that showed signs of still being in youth, my fathers' wasn't. Through years of digging holes in the ground, my father had unfortunately developed quite a large hunch in his back from bending over all the time. At the moment, he was making his way up the stairs towards me, unaware of my presence.

"Father?" I rasped in English, finding my throat dry from pain, successfully surprising my father from his position on the stairs. I could just see him squinting in the darkness, trying to find the source of the nose and let out a sudden gasp at my image.

"What in heavens name did you do boy?" he asked me with a frown, going into his pocket to fetch the keys to the house. He only had a duffle bag, which meant he wouldn't be staying for very long. I was a little disappointed by the knowledge, but happy that he'd come at this due to current circumstances.

"I was attacked on my way home," I replied honestly, unsure whether my father would believe it or not. All he did was frown at me while he opened the door, letting us both inside.

I again cursed my luck for the heater not being on due to the time and began hobbling my way to the kitchen for bandages to fix myself up with. My father went straight upstairs to turn the heating on so we could stay warm and I made my way into the lounge room to sit down and get to work on myself.

I took off my top first to start dabbing at the cut on my shoulder, wincing when the disinfectant made contact with it. Luckily I wouldn't need stitches, as it wasn't as deep as the one on my cheek. That was another issue entirely.

Wiping my thankfully unbroken nose of the blood I decided to take a look at my leg.

There were no cuts, however there was quite a bit of swelling on my calf so I decided to bandage it up after a shower so it may relieve some of the soreness while walking. I stood up slowly, my head feeling heavy and painful and carefully made my way towards the stairs to have said shower.

Once I'd made it into the bathroom I took a look at myself in the mirror and grimaced. I was as pale as a sheet; my nose, cheeks and all my injuries were forming a horrible dark purple colour, my eyes were swollen and dry and I'd found another cut I didn't notice on my lip. Perhaps from the many brushes with the ground?

I struggled out of the rest of my clothing, sighing from the relief of the constriction and almost gleefully jumped into the shower. After letting all of the access blood wash away down the drain, I closed my eyes to the warmth that stung my numb body.

It was such an eventful day that I didn't even want to begin to think about it until my head hit my lovely pillow and sleep would finally take me.

Realising I'd used most of the hot water and remembering that my father was still in need of a shower, I hopped out and dried off, careful of every bump and bruise along the way.

Once I'd managed to hobble to my bedroom for a pair of clothes (singlet and some tracksuit pants) and put the bandage on my leg I head my father call my name.

"C-coming!" I called out to him, stumbling a bit down the stairs; once again using the railing for some much-needed support, I found my father on the lounge chair with a parcel in his hands. He looked up at me from his position, having heard the small grunts I'd made coming down the stairs.

"My God Ryou, you look like shit," he swore, scowling at me. I wince internally at the comment, it having hurt my pride.

"S-sorry," I stammered, looking down at my hands that had thankfully not been broken. I heard my father sigh and looked up.

"No matter," he muttered, gesturing for me to sit down next to me and thrust the parcel into my hands, "I found you a little something. Nothing huge, but apparently it's quite an ancient artefact."

I blinked, looking down at the box. He would always do this. It's not that I didn't appreciate the gesture, it just seemed forced to me. Like he was buying my affections, but I opened it nonetheless.

It was a ring of sometime, but not one you'd put on your finger. About as big as my hand stretched out, it had a triangle in the centre with a weird carving of an eye in the middle of it. Dangling from the bottom half of it were five forks that pointed to a tip. It was quite gaudy, but I liked it nonetheless.

"Thank-you, father," I said earnestly, giving him as much of a smile as I could given my faces' current state. He only shrugged at me.

"Eh, it's alright, don't thinks it's worth much anyway," he replied. Ouch, that really sort of hurt. I know he didn't think that through before he said it, but it still hurt. I decided to tell him about the good news.

"Oh and I tried out for the school production today," I said awkwardly, scratching my uninjured cheek. He turned to me with a raise eyebrow.

"Hmm?" That was good, he was interested at least.

"I-I got a call-back and I have to perform again on Friday," I continued, happiness gleaming in my eyes for the first time for a while today. Suddenly, he stood up, walking towards the door and turned, giving me the first half-smiled I'd seen since…forever.

"Good," he also replied awkwardly, "That's…good," he glanced away from me, "I'm…glad," and just like that. He was gone. Up the stairs and into his room.

I sat on the couch for a bit, ring still nestled on my lap just thinking about what transpired and feeling, happy. Really, happy. The first words of encouragement I'd gotten from my father since receiving news that I'd gotten a position at Domino Arts Academy and that was a while ago now.

Making my way off the couch and up to my bedroom I sat back down on my bed, taking the weird ring with me.

I studied it a while. It seemed to have been made out of gold, but I wasn't sure whether it was real or not. Suddenly, as if I'd just put it on top of a stove, it became unbearably hot. I dropped it on the ground from the burning sensation and stared at it angrily. That was odd. Thinking my mind was playing tricks on me, I picked it up again and found that it was fine. Deciding to write it off as my head feeling things in my sore and tired haze I took the ring to my bedside table and laid down, throwing the covers over me. The last thought I had as I fell asleep was that I'd need to head down to the college tomorrow to get my car back.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Bloody hell that took forever! Word length was about 5,000 or more.**

**[1] Boot= Trunk in Australia (just incase you don't know)**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed and don't forget to R&R! =]**


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